Ruta 40
 

I am in the early stages of organising a trip Jan/Feb, and possibly March, 2020. Dates aren't flexible. I had been planning on buying a bike in Peru and riding round there for a few months, but I keep thinking about Ruta 40, possibly because my hoped-for trip this summer, ending with the Road of Bones, didn't work out. I like the idea of a really long and remote road. So, recently, I have been thinking of shipping a bike to and from Buenos Aires. Bike would be a CCM GP450.

I am wondering what is a realistic time scale for riding RN40, with the trip starting and ending in Buenos Aires? Also, any recommendations for the best routes to both ends of it, which direction to ride it, and any ideas for shipping the bike from the UK? I don't want to end up losing time on paperwork, and want to spend as little time in Buenos Aires as possible. I have used James Cargo before, so will be getting a shipping quote from them.

I would like to get all the way to Ushaia if possible, but that's not a deal breaker. Also, what sort of weather to expect? It's a pretty long road, covering a lot of latitude, so I am guessing it will be pretty variable. I have read plenty of horror stories of the winds in Patagonia........

Any info on anything relevant will be much appreciated.

Winds are likely in Patagonia, but I saw people riding in those winds on bicycles, so I figured I had it easy. Just don't get uppity--people do crash in the winds--and take extra gasoline to account for fuel consumption skyrocketing.

A couple of months is plenty of time for the entire Ruta 40. If you included March you could take every side trip, use frequent rest days, and drink lots of beer along the way. Easy enough to start from the Bolivia border, ride to Ushuaia, double back along Ruta 5/Caraterra Austral, and throw in an Andean pass or two or three. The ones in the north are fun and interesting.

Weather is indeed variable. At that time of year, very little will be intolerable.

Getting to and from B.A. by road is a bit annoying. Consider Santiago instead, at least for beginning or ending.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Also consider Santiago because working with Argentinian Customs at BA is a long, slow process and many have found it to be absolute nightmare due to minor paperwork discrepancies. In contrast the process in Santiago is very simple. Of you check online the vast majority of people shipping bikes into SA are using this option at the moment. I flew my bike in there and it took me less than 2 hours to self process my bike out of the warehouse

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Thanks for the replies! I will have a look at shipping to and from Santiago instead. Any info/advice on shipping there would be most welcome.

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I get more than enough partying in cities at home [emoji6]

If I end up going to Santiago hopefully I won't be around long enough to get bored. I am looking at maximising time on the road and want to spend as little time as possible in cities. I will look at Montevideo as an option for shipping.

I'm not much of a city person either, but B.A. is worth a look. There are other worthy sights on that side of the continent, too--parts of Uruguay, Iguazu, etc. For nature, mountains, remote places, deserts and such, the west coast is far more interesting. You're not short on time, so inbound via an east coast port and out via the west coast (or visa versa) makes a certain amount of sense. That might end up meaning Valparaiso and Montevideo.

Your original post asked mainly about Ruta 40, so this is all getting somewhat off-topic.

Mark

The focus of the trip is Ruta 40, anything else would just be a bonus. Basically at the moment I just want to find the easiest and cheapest way of getting a bike over there for the trip. I want to be able to set off within a few days of arriving. I have also looked at buying a bike over there, but it looks like far too much time, paperwork and hassle, which is why I am now looking at shipping a bike. I had looked at buying a bike in Peru (when I was thinking of going there), which seems a relatively straight forward process,from what I have read, but it would mean taking it back there to sell it at the end of the trip.

Once I have sorted the logistics out, I can plan the rest of the trip. I grew up in a desert, and love them, so if I can fit some desert trips in as well it would be great.

When I looked at renting, two months turned out about the same as buying a bike. I couldn't find any for less than about $120 per day. Unless you know of any cheaper places?